پژوهشگاه فرهنگ، هنر و ارتباطات فصلنامه علمی مطالعات راهبردی فرهنگ 2783-3577 6 3 2026 09 23 Analysis of the Institutional and Managerial Structure of Cultural Heritage in Iran: A Re-examination of Senior Managers’ and Experts’ Perspectives تحلیل ساختار نهادی و مدیریتی میراث فرهنگی در ایران مبتنی بر بازخوانی دیدگاه‌های مدیران و متخصصان پیشکسوت 111 151 245781 10.22083/scsj.2026.571452.1358 FA رضا رحیم نیا استادیار گروه مرمت و احیا بناهای تاریخی دانشکده معماری و شهرسازی، دانشگاه بین‌المللی امام خمینی (ره)، قزوین، ایران. (نویسنده مسئول) Rahimnia@arc.ikiu.ac.ir 0000-0002-3582-0637 محمدرضا محمودی قوژدی استادیار گروه مرمت و احیا بناهای تاریخی دانشکده معماری و شهرسازی، دانشگاه بین‌المللی امام خمینی (ره)، قزوین، ایران. m.mahmoodi@arc.ikiu.ac.ir 0009-0003-5495-0431 Journal Article 2026 01 08 Introduction: Cultural heritage is intrinsically connected to the foundations of culture, identity, and historical awareness. In Iran, cultural heritage has consistently attracted attention at both governmental and societal levels, and its institutional structure has undergone numerous transformations over time. Despite these institutional changes, including the establishment of a dedicated ministry, cultural heritage management continues to face persistent organizational, managerial, and structural challenges that constrain its effectiveness. One of the central issues confronting the cultural heritage sector is its ongoing tension with development-oriented policies pursued by other governmental institutions. Legal contradictions, overlapping responsibilities, and divergent priorities often place heritage protection in tension with economic growth, urban expansion, and infrastructure development. This antagonistic relationship has intensified pressures on heritage assets and weakened the institutional authority responsible for their protection. At the same time, neglecting cultural identity and heritage values undermines social cohesion and reduces the potential for culturally grounded development. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive macro-level perspective that considers national policies, institutional frameworks, and the experiential knowledge of practitioners. Senior managers and experienced experts possess valuable tacit knowledge derived from years of direct engagement with heritage governance. Analyzing their perspectives offers an effective means of diagnosing current conditions, identifying structural weaknesses, and proposing realistic pathways for reform. This study aims to systematically examine these perspectives in order to clarify the current state of cultural heritage governance and inform future policy directions.<br>Methods: This research is grounded in an interpretive paradigm and employs a mixed qualitative–quantitative approach to content analysis. Primary data were obtained from the written statements and recorded perspectives of thirty-nine senior managers and experienced experts specializing in architectural heritage, urban heritage, and archaeology. These individuals participated in two consultative meetings held by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts in December 2021. The collected texts were systematically analyzed using MAXQDA software. The analytical process involved several stages, including open coding, conceptual grouping, and thematic categorization. In total, 434 initial codes were extracted, which were subsequently organized into 140 conceptual groups and ultimately consolidated into 38 thematic categories. These categories were structured around two main dimensions—challenges and solutions—and three analytical domains: strategies, structures, and systems. The qualitative component of the analysis focused on interpreting meanings, relationships, and patterns embedded in expert narratives, while the quantitative component examined the frequency and distribution of themes. This combined approach enhanced analytical rigor and provided a comprehensive understanding of both the depth and prevalence of the identified issues.<br>Findings: The findings demonstrate that challenges and proposed solutions in Iran’s cultural heritage sector are closely interconnected and often represent two sides of the same issue. In the strategic domain, experts emphasized deficiencies in macro-level policymaking, limited integration of cultural heritage into national planning, insufficient public participation, weak awareness-raising initiatives, and reduced international engagement. They highlighted the necessity of developing a clear national roadmap that recognizes cultural heritage as a strategic asset contributing to identity, security, and sustainable development. Within the structural domain, the most frequently cited challenges include organizational fragmentation, ineffective administrative arrangements, politicized managerial appointments, the loss of expert human resources, and chronic financial constraints. Repeated institutional changes have weakened organizational memory and professional capacity. Experts therefore stressed the importance of strengthening the institutional position of cultural heritage, reforming legal frameworks, empowering expert bodies, and establishing stable funding mechanisms. The systems domain encompasses operational mechanisms such as heritage registration, conservation practices, buffer-zone regulation, archaeological governance, museum management, tourism integration, and private-sector involvement. Experts identified inconsistencies in national and international registration processes, inadequate protection of historic urban fabrics, and problematic interactions between tourism development and heritage conservation. They identified the promotion of sustainable cultural tourism, improved documentation and research, safeguarding intangible heritage, and clarification of regulatory systems as key priorities.<br>Conclusion: Overall, the results underscore the urgent need for comprehensive reform across the strategic, structural, and systemic dimensions of cultural heritage governance in Iran. Sustainable governance requires coherent policymaking, institutional stability, expert-driven management, and meaningful engagement with social and cultural capacities. The insights provided by senior managers and experienced experts offer a valuable foundation for guiding future reforms, addressing institutional and operational weaknesses, and strengthening the role of cultural heritage in national development. میراث فرهنگی به‌عنوان بخشی از هویت ملی و سرمایه‌های تاریخی هر کشور، با مجموعه‌ای از چالش‌های پیچیده و چندوجهی مواجه است که مدیریت و حفاظت از آن نیازمند نگرشی جامع و راهکارهای کارآمد خواهد بود. باتوجه‌به اهمیت این موضوع، پژوهش حاضر با هدف واکاوی چالش‌ها و راهبردهای کلان حوزه میراث فرهنگی ایران، مبتنی بر تحلیل نظرات ۳۹ نفر از مدیران و متخصصان پیشکسوت این حوزه در سال 1400 انجام شد. این تحلیل محتوای مفهومی که با نگاهی کیفی-کمی انجام گرفت دو گونه کلی چالش‌ها و راهکارها را در ارزیابی وضعیت وزارتخانه میراث فرهنگی، گردشگری و صنایع‌دستی و با تمرکز بر حوزه میراث فرهنگی مدنظر داشته است. متن این نظرات پردازش و ابعاد جامعی از مسائل حوزه میراث فرهنگی شناسایی و دسته‌بندی شده است. فرایند تحلیل در نرم‌افزار MAXQDA و با روش تحلیل محتوا انجام گرفت. درنهایت در هر دو گونه چالش‌ها و راهکارها، یافته‌های اولیه در سه محور اصلی راهبردها، ساختارها و سیستم‌ها - که در حوزۀ مدیریت به‌عنوان ابعاد سخت یک سازمان شناخته می‌شوند - دسته‌بندی شد. محور راهبردی شامل مواردی مثل نقش مشارکت مردم، برنامه‌های فرادست، تعاملات بین‌المللی، ظرفیت‌های فرهنگی و جایگاه دانشگاه‌ها است. محور ساختاری شامل مواردی همچون چالش‌های مدیریتی، ضعف تشکیلات سازمانی، محدودیت‌های مالی، قوانین ناکارآمد و کارشناسان و منابع انسانی است. در سیستم نیز موضوعاتی مانند فرایند ثبت ملی و جهانی، حفاظت از بافت‌های تاریخی، نظام عرصه و حریم، باستان‌شناسی و گردشگری از موارد شناسایی شده هستند. در خروجی نهایی نیز پیامدهایی شامل «تقویت حکمرانی میراثی و انسجام رویه‌های مدیریتی»، «تقویت هویت ملی و سرمایه فرهنگی»، «حفاظت مردمی و افزایش تعلق اجتماعی»، «ارتقای دانش حفاظت و جبران خلأ نیروی انسانی»، «تربیت نیروی انسانی و تقویت جایگاه بین‌المللی» و «اصلاح رویه‌های مدیریتی» برای افق مطلوب در حفاظت از میراث فرهنگی معرفی شدند. https://scsj.ricac.ac.ir/article_245781_1e15e903733743c666e0c05fb901946b.pdf